Legends
"Legends" is composed of the sixteenth and seventeenth episodes of . It originally aired on April 21 and 28, 2002. Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, J'onn and the Flash are transported to a parallel world protected by a series of comic book heroes from Lantern's childhood. Plot Several Justice Leaguers are fighting a giant robot. It is eventually destroyed when Superman tears it open and Batman destroys its reactor with a Batarang. However, following the explosion, four League members, Green Lantern, Flash, J'onn, and Hawkgirl, are transported to an alternate Earth that resembles an idyllic 1950's town. After Green Lantern prevents a villain (Music Master) from stealing a violin, the League members are mistaken for villains by the Justice Guild of America, consisting of the Green Guardsman (similar to Green Lantern), Black Siren (similar to Black Canary), The Streak (similar to The Flash), Tom Turbine, and Cat Man (similar to Batman). They fight with the Leaguers, but they work together after Flash saves their youthful sidekick, Ray Thompson, from being crushed. The Justice Guild makes the four League members honorary members of their team. Green Lantern feels that something is wrong: he remembers the heroes from the comic books of his childhood, but never knew that they were real people. In order to try and find out what is going on, the League fights along the heroes against the Injustice Guild, consisting of Music Master, Dr. Blizzard, Sportsman, and Sir Swami. However, the Leaguers begin to notice flaws in the world: the ice cream truck passing through never stops; J'onn starts seeing haunting images of the city being destroyed; and Hawkgirl and Lantern discover that all the books in the library are empty covers. They also notice that the two police officers they have seen patrolling the city are the only ones around; when they try to stop the policemen to question them, they act scared and drive off in a hurry. Finally the Leaguers discover the graves of the Justice Guild! J'onn later discovers that the whole city was an illusion. In this universe, years ago, Seaboard City was destroyed during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Ray Thompson, after being exposed to the fallout, developed powerful psionic powers. When J'onn mind-probes Ray, he reveals his true form, that of a hideous mutant. Ray decided to create a "new" city based on his childhood, complete with his favorite heroes - in reality, they died during the catastrophe. However, the real inhabitants of the city are all terrified of Ray. The Leaguers battle Ray, but are outmatched by his powers. The Guild hesitates, realizing that defeating Ray will end their existence - then they decide it doesn't matter, and join the League. Together, they manage to knock Ray out: the city disappears and so does the Guild, and the ruins of a destroyed civilization appear. The survivors emerge, vowing to rebuild their city, while the Leaguers use a device built by Tom Turbine to return home. Back in the real world, Lantern is mourning the "deaths" of his heroes. He says it doesn't make sense, when they weren't real to begin with. Hawkgirl says they still sacrificed themselves to help the League, which is reason enough to mourn them. Background Information Trivia * Wonder Woman does not appear. * Several of the producers identified this as their favorite episode from Season One. Cast External links *Episode guide from TV.com (1) (2) Quotes Legends